Top Cop - May 2013 The Buena Park Police Department recognizes our officers monthly who go above and beyond the call of duty in their service to the community.

TOP COP – MAY 2013

OFFICER THOMAS CARNEY

Officer Carney is an excellent street cop with razor-sharp intuition and an unstoppable work ethic. The supervisory staff, once again, selected him as the Department’s Top Cop for May 2013, a recognition he’s received on numerous occasions.

This month’s recognition was based on a case that originated on May 19, 2013, when a fellow officer notified Officer Carney earlier that day, of a carjacking that had occurred in the City of Whittier. Luckily, no one was injured, but the carjacker stole this family’s white sports utility vehicle.

That evening Officer Carney began his regular graveyard shift, working throughout the night and into the early morning of May 20, 2013. At about 6:28 a.m., while returning to the station to conclude his shift, he noticed a white sports utility vehicle in the area of Western Avenue and Orangethorpe Avenue with two occupants. He immediately made a u-turn to check the vehicle’s license plate and confirm if the vehicle was that of the carjacking. Seeing him make a u-turn, the white sports utility vehicle also made a u-turn in an effort to avoid the police. The vehicle quickly pulled into the shopping complex on the corner of Western and Orangethorpe and hid behind the building. Officer Carney followed the white sports utility vehicle and broadcast over the radio his location and activity.

The male passenger immediately exited the vehicle and began walking away, ignoring the officer’s commands to stop. The female driver also exited the vehicle and became verbally confrontational. Officer Carney noticed that the white sports utility vehicle they occupied was clearly not new, yet had paper license plates, and no temporary registration stickers. Officer Carney then broadcast over the radio the direction of travel and physical description of the male subject who had walked away.

Once additional units arrived, the male subject was located and the female driver was detained. A records check of the white sports utility vehicle’s identification number was run and discovered that the car was, in fact, the one stolen in the carjacking the day before. The suspect admitted to the crime and is a known gang member.

As a recent triple Auto Theft Advisory Committee award recipient for the entire County of Orange, this is just one more example of Officer Carney’s finely tuned “sixth sense” that he possess to locate, arrest and prosecute criminals. This is simply the outstanding police work Officer Carney conducts on a daily basis. The community of Buena Park is lucky to have such an outstanding officer patrolling and protecting it!